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The Pebble and the Penguin
The Pebble and the Penguin is a 1995 American animated musical buddy comedy film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. The film was produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer and internationally by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment. It was released on April 12. 1995. Plot Every year in Antarctica, several male Adelie penguins look for a pebble to present to a female in hopes of gaining a potential mate. One of them, a shy and gullible yet kindhearted Hubie, is in love with Marina, the most beautiful female penguin in the rookery, but cannot bring himself to court her due to lack of self-confidence. This is also marked by his rival, Drake, who also wants Marina, though clearly out of lust. One night, Hubie brings Marina to the hilltop where he spends most of his time and expresses how he feels towards her; she returns his feelings. After failing to find a perfect pebble to present to her, Hubie wishes on a star and receives a beautiful emerald cube (mistaking it for a pebble) from the sky. He ecstatically looks for Marina to present it, but is thwarted by Drake, who demands to give him the emerald. When Hubie refuses, Drake throws him into the sea, where he narrowly escapes a leopard seal and ends up on an iceberg that floats far away from Antarctica. Hubie awakens on a ship where several other penguins are held in anticipation of being sold to zoos. Among them is Rocko, a tough, grumpy, streetwise rockhopper penguin who, unlike the others, desires to escape. After seeing Marina being timed by Drake in a vision via the emerald, Hubie convinces Rocko to let him break out as well. The escape attempt is a success and the pair lay low on a beach, where Rocko reluctantly shares his dream of flying. Hubie convinces Rocko to help him get back to Antarctica by lying about a flying penguin named Waldo. On the way, they stop at a craggy island where Rocko attempts to fly and fails, leading to an argument and another one after he prevents Hubie from accidentally swimming towards a passing killer whale. Meanwhile, Drake begins threatening Marina to choose a mate or else she will be banished, as it goes against penguin tradition. As Hubie and Rocko prepare to depart, Hubie reveals that he made Waldo up, angering Rocko into attacking him; he soon begins laughing after recognizing Hubie's determination to return to Marina and forgives him. Meanwhile, Marina begins worrying about Hubie's safety. When Hubie and Rocko stop to eat, they are attacked by the leopard seal from earlier and barely escape. They become true friends afterwards, though Rocko only admits it after much goading from Hubie, and he soon begins teaching him how to fight and stand up for himself. Their happiness is short-lived when they are suddenly attacked by a trio of killer whales. During the chase, Hubie loses his emerald and is separated from Rocko, leaving Hubie to believe that he has perished. After mourning his friend, Hubie continues to Drake's tower and battles him for Marina's hand. Hubie loses the first round, but gets a second wind and finally begins beating Drake with the tactics that Rocko taught him, forcing Drake to fall to his supposed demise. Having won the fight, Hubie proposes to Marina, who accepts just as Rocko, who survived the killer whale attack, swims ashore. The reunion is cut short when Drake returns to make one final attempt at finishing them off by throwing a giant boulder at them. The tower collapses, crushing Drake to death and nearly claiming Hubie & Marina until Rocko dives down and rescues them, thus gaining his ability for flight and fulfilling his dream. The trio return to Antarctica, where Rocko, having retrieved the emerald, gives it back to Hubie, who in turn offers it to Marina. She declares to love it but that she loves Hubie even more. Rocko remains with them in Antarctica and, some time later, he teaches their children how to fly. Voice Cast *Martin Short as Hubie *Jim Belushi as Rocko *Tim Curry as Drake *Annie Golden as Marina *Alissa King as Petra *Louise Vallance as Priscilla and Chinstrap 2 *Will Ryan as Royal and Tika *Neil Ross as Scrawny *Stan Jones as McCallister *S. Scott Bullock as Chubby and Gentoo *Philip L. Clarke as King *Shani Wallis as the Narrator *B.J. Ward as Megellenic 1 *Hamilton Camp as Megellenic 2 *Angeline Ball as Gwynne and Chinstrap 3 *Kendall Cunningham as Timmy *Pat Musick as Chinstrap 1 *Michael Nunes as Beany Production Conception The Animated Movie Guide said, "considering the artistic and financial success of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Don Bluth and Gary Goldman decided to cater to the dating crowd, in addition to preschoolers." The movie was produced by Don Bluth Ireland Limited; at one point, production began in November 1991. The working title of the film was "A Penguin Story." In 1994, "Bluth spoke enthusiastically of such pending projects as "The Pebble and the Penguin" and "A Troll in Central Park." The film was originally slated for release in the summer of 1994 (while "Thumbelina" was scheduled for November 1993 and "A Troll in Central Park" was scheduled for March 1994), but due to some production difficulties (and possibly to avoid competition with other films such as the "The Lion King", "Baby's Day Out", "Speed" and "Forrest Gump"), the film's release date was changed to April 1995. Animation and Research Though Bluth Productions was based in Dublin, artists from Ireland, England and Hungary worked on the project, at least seven directing animators working on the film; among them John Pomeroy. The penguins in the film are clothed. Humans wearing penguin costumes were filmed and then used as photostat references for the animators. The iconic quote from Hubie, "Goodness glaciers!" (as well as his overall appearance) is a sly reference to "Gentleman Glacier", an old Canadian newspaper cartoon used to illustrate snow accumulation each year. Only two scenes in the film were "augmented by computer animation", one of which being "The Good Ship Misery" song sequence The opening credit and overture sequence has the animated penguin characters playing and dancing on the sheet music for the songs in the film. According to The Free Lance–Star, the animators researched for the film by "watching documentaries and visiting zoos, such as San Diego's Sea World and Scotland's Glasgow Zoo". The site added that in promotional material, the animators explained they "discovered that the land of snow and ice shines with many different hues." Production Issues Due to changes insisted by MGM, animation fell behind and additional coloring had to be done at a Hungarian animation studio. Don Bluth & Gary Goldman were so dissatisfied with the final film that they left during production to help set up Fox Animation Studios and demanded to be uncredited as the directors. The book "Animated Films" said that "changes at MGM during production...resulted in the project being affected in terms of production value". In a 2001 edition of his magazine Toon Talk, Don Bluth admitted that "Penguin had story problems. We knew it. The crew knew it". Even though Bluth tried to fix these issues when his Irish studio got taken over by the Hong Kong company Media Assets, "the story and film were now compromised", so neither he or Goldman stayed. They had their names removed from the film's credits and accepted an offer by Bill Mechanic (20th Century Fox's then-president) to set up a new animation studio in the US (which would become Fox Animation Studios). Bluth said to his animation crew: "I can't chew with someone else's mouth". Despite this executive interference, The Animated Movie Guide noted MGM/UA producer Walter Mirisch's comments on the film: "I think it's one of Don's best films ever...There's no issue of our claiming the credit for this. It's his film." Music The songs for "The Pebble and the Penguin" were written by Barry Manilow (who previously wrote the songs for "Thumbelina" along with longtime collaborator and lyricist Bruce Sussman). The film's score was composed by Mark Watters. Manilow, who had "started off wanting to be a composer," got an opportunity to do this when he was approached to "compose songs and the underscore" for the film and "Thumbelina." Barbadian singer Geoffrey Holder sang the deleted song "The Beachmaster" for the film. An accompanying soundtrack was released on April 11, 1995. The instruments in the songs and score were performed by The Irish Film Orchestra. This soundtrack is currently out of print. Tracklisting #"Now and Forever" by Hubie, Marina and Company #"Sometimes I Wonder"by Hubie and Marina #"The Good Ship Misery" by Company #"Don't Make Me Laugh" by Drake #"Sometimes I Wonder (Reprise)" by Marina #"Looks Like I Got Me a Friend" by Hubie and Rocko #"Now and Forever (Reprise)" by Company #"Now and Forever (End Credits)" by Barry Manilow and Sheena Easton Release Marketing The film's tagline was "The adventure of a lifetime begins with one small pebble". Seventy-five readers of San Antonio Express-News each won four tickets to the film. The special showing was held at 11 a.m. on April 8 at the Embassy Theaters. It was cross-promoted with Anheuser-Busch's Sea World Parks. "Driving Mr. Pink" "The Pebble and the Penguin" was accompanied in its theater run by a new Pink Panther short entitled "Driving Mr. Pink" in the United States which was adapted from an episode of the successful "Pink Panther" TV series (though the movie was accompanied in its theater run by a new "Looney Tunes" short entitled "Carrotblanca" internationally). Box Office "The Pebble and the Penguin" grossed $1,123,041 during its opening weekend, ranking at #13 at the box office with an average of $854. Domestically, the film grossed $3,983,912. Reception On Rotten Tomatoes, "The Pebble and the Penguin" has a rating of 11% based on 9 reviews with an average of 3.3/10. It was given a "Two Thumbs Down" on "Siskel & Ebert" with Gene Siskel noted that the film's animation looks "cheap and unfinished" and that "none of the songs are memorable" while Roger Ebert added his dislike of the "dumb songs", "silly story" and the film's color-coding of its heroes and villains. Ebert took this a step further by arguing: "What do kids learn from this? Nothing overt. Just a quiet, unstated impression: White is good and brave, and brown is scheming and negative. Reinforce that through lots of cartoons (examples: "Aladdin" and "The Rescuers Down Under") and no wonder even black children choose white dolls in some psychological experiment." Deseret News said that "the songs are forgettable, the story one-note and the characterizations quite weak." The Austin Chronicle said the film "lacks dramatic structure and narrative drive: Songs and animated action pieces are narratively connected but the film doesn't feel as though it is an organic whole. All the elements are here, they just don't come together." Time Out said: "The characterisations are weak and unendearing. Worse, the big 'action' sequences turn up with the pacing and predictability of clock chimes. And, in what is perhaps the last great medium for musicals, the perfunctoriness of Barry Manilow's songs and arrangements seem guaranteed to put off yet another generation." The New York Times wrote that 4 would be "the optimum age for viewers of this gentle, animated musical", adding that "the action seems flat and low-rent compared to those earlier movies" and that it "doesn't have the vivid characters, first-rate animation or sense of adventure that turns movies like The Lion King into endlessly watchable favorites." Washington Post Staff Writer Hal Hinson wrote: "The banality of the story, the pallid look, the flatness of the characters add up to a product that is, at best, second rate." SFGate said the "gnashing whale scenes are intense enough to push the G-rating envelope." The Spokesman-Review wrote, "it is only an average effort in virtually every respect." The Record said: "The orchestration is too fancy, too loud and often drowns out the lyrics. This is a kid's movie, but musically it sounds like a full-costume Broadway show with full-supporting chorus line." It also added: "It's a little disturbing to see a children's movie that perpetuates the erroneous image of killer whales as violent creatures. It is, however, a perfect indication of the limited imagination which went into writing The Pebble and the Penguin." The Free Lance–Star said the film got a "charming mating ritual" and turned it into "sappy action romance with celebrity voices." The book "Contemporary North American Film Directors" suggested that the film suffered from "the same unimaginative and cliched Disney of the 1970s that Bluth had been so critical of." The Animated Movie Guide said, "the hero was a stuttering wimp, the songs didn't advance the plot, the dialogue was incessant and superfluous, and the pacing was plodding and dull." Some critics did praise various aspects of the film, however, particularly in regard to Bluth's animation, however, these reviews were almost exclusively mixed. Common Sense Media said, "the background animation of capricious weather conditions is lovely, as are the top-notch original songs by Barry Manilow and Mark Watters". Deseret News said: "Bluth's strength continues to be colorful, classical-style animation, and there are some gorgeous moments here — especially some underwater sequences". The Austin Chronicle said: "The Pebble and the Penguin features some beautifully animated sequences ... The characters are great and the voice talents of Martin Short...and James Belushi...are terrific." Variety said the film has a "heartwarming story, some lively songs and professional animation", adding that it is "a sweet, enjoyable romantic tale more likely to succeed as an afternoon diversion on home video than on the big screen". The New York Times wrote "The tunes Mr. Manilow has written for the movie are, like his familiar pop standards, bouncy and catchy" and commented that "the animation is fine." Washington Post Staff Writer Hal Hinson wrote that "A flourishing opening number—titled 'Here and Now'—proves that Short can belt out a song with the best of them," adding that the "Bluth studio style of animation is passable, and, in the case of a Brecht-Weill flavored production number, occasionally inspired." SFGate described the "show-tune- style songs" as "pleasant but forgettable", adding that "the singing by Short, Belushi, Curry and Broadway belter Golden is the best thing about the film". It also noted that "one of the obvious obstacles was how to color a film whose natural shadings tend toward black, white and degrees of gray. The result is a lot of odd but fascinating colorations -- the sky might turn up yellow at times, or the sea a deep maroon." The Spokesman-Review' wrote "in an era when G-rated movies are as rare as Hollywood humility, any attempt at family entertainment should be lauded", adding "let us salute Don Bluth and his team of animators." In a rare case, The Daily Gazette gave the film 4 stars. The Animated Movie Guide said the film was an "utter waste of talent and resources" due to interference from external forces. Monica Sullivan of Movie Magazine International noted that the film was "heartily enjoyed by the two little girls who saw it with me at a kiddie matinee." Accolades Category:Films Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Category:Sullivan Bluth Studios films Category:Musical films Category:Comedy films Category:Traditional animated films Category:G-rated films Category:Children and family films Category:1990s films Category:American films Category:1995 films Category:Box Office Bombs